QUEEN ELIZABETH DIES AT 96 AFTER 70-YEARS REIGN
September 8, 2022
UKRAINIAN COMMUNITY MOURNS THE PASSING OF LONGEST REIGNING MONARCH - QUEEN ELIZABETH II
We receive the news of the passing of our Queen Elizabeth II with equal measures of sadness and gratitude. Her reign has been one of dignity and courage and inspiration - qualities which will be sadly missed. Throughout the 70 years from her accepting the duties of Queen Regnant, Her Majesty has truly exemplified the attributes proclaimed in the Royal Anthem, "gracious" and "noble".
As Canadians and those of Ukrainian ancestry, we are grateful for her example of respect and dignity and her always refreshing endorsement of human dignity and Christian values during her always greatly anticipated annual Christmas greeting and her recent Easter Greeting. She has always been esteemed by our people in Canada and indeed by the faithful of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Canada. There is probably not a parish hall where her portrait is not found. Just last month as Ukraine celebrated its 31st Independence Day in the midst of Russia's brutal invasion, Ukrainian people here in Canada and certainly in Ukraine were heartened by her words of encouragement and support. In her message on that occasion, she expressed to the people of Ukraine, "my warmest greetings on the celebration of your Independence Day. ... In this most challenging year, I hope that today will be a time for the Ukrainian people, both in Ukraine and around the world, to celebrate their culture, history and identity. May we look to better times in the future."
We express our sincerest condolences to the people of the United Kingdom and all peoples of the Commonwealth, including Canada, and we pledge our prayerful support at this time of collective bereavement.
As we do in our tradition, we ask the Lord, "to grant to the soul of Your servant, Queen Elizabeth II, who has fallen asleep, - rest in a place of light, a place of verdure, and a place of tranquility, from which pain, sorrow and mourning have fled...."
Вічна їй пам'ять!
- Metropolitan Lawrence Huculak, OSBM
